DreadZone II: The Encore
by Warpstar47
Summary: DreadZone II is based in the Bogon galaxy which is abducting people and forcing them to fight. After years of success, one new gladiator threatens to change everything. Contains blood, violence, sexual references, OCs, new ideas, and a better description than this one. :) If you like it, share with others!


Hidden in the Bogon Galaxy, the illegal combat sport "Dreadzone II" has been abducting people around the galaxy and few from aboad, and forcing them to fight for their lives for the entertainment of the Bogon underworld. This has been the case for years and it appears no one can stop it. All the while, one new combatant threatens the balance of Dreadzone which eventually begins to shape other events across the cosmos.

This fanfic takes place in my version of the Ratchet &amp; Clank universe; something less cartoonish and more "realistic": for an idea, think 'R&amp;C meets 'Mass Effect' (this is not a Mass Effect crossover). This is set a while after the events of R&amp;C: Into The Nexus, but this detail doesn't affect this story greatly.

Ratchet and Clank won't be making an appearance, but several other official characters will be as well as some mentioned characters I'll develop in my way, but mainly OCs which includes the main character.

The main character is a male, currently 20 and human, who's a long way from home and has been dragged into this dangerous sport and is forced to learn new skills in order to survive.

There will also be references and similarities to other games or series; I'll try to name them as I go.

Rated M for violence, gore, injury detail, strong language, and occasional sex references.

Enjoy!

**Dreadzone II: The Encore**

**Chapter 1: The Kind of Gladiator**

"Can't keep this up…!"

Running and limping across the urban tarmac of this horrifying wreck that used to be a city; but not anymore since his "owners" arrived. The dead grey buildings of the estate felt like wall crushing the exhausted gladiator from afar.

He jumped behind a dried up fountain, and looked round the corner: no one was there. His lack of breath was catching up to him; he retreated behind the stone structure, rested his back against it, and reloaded.

"Shit, low on ammo"

But it wasn't wasted, he was a good shot; he used to be a hunting instructor back on Snivelak. His hell began almost two months ago; woke up to being greeted and thrown into the ring.

He checked his wound on his lower leg was; he could see right through it. Blood running down his leg; a clear contrast to his green scales. He pulled out a large bandage and rapped it round his leg; then a syringe and injected into the same leg between the armour and scales. Now standing properly, he drew his rifle and peaked round the corner: still there was nothing.

Heart beating, trigger finger twitching, on edge; scared for his life. He was one of the top gladiators, people looked up to him, and he was scared like fresh meat.

*Werrrr-click*

His eye fixed on the source of the noise, it was the camera. His eyes refocused on the approach, still nothing.

"Must have gone after one of the others"

He hid behind the cover, and then pulled out something from his pocket. He stared at his device; a cube with an alien language written on it. It reminded him of home; of his wife and son.

"I'll fight for the day I will see you again"

He couldn't bear the thought of leaving his wife and letting his son grow up without his father.

He held the cube tightly, peaked round the corner again; nothing. But he noticed something: the blood trail from the fight to where he was now.

"I'm not safe here"

Either from the moral boost from the reminder, or the nanotech kicking in, he was ready to move.

Dashing to the left of the cover, into the building, checking the room, and heading to the stairs.

"Elevated position, best position"

He dashed up the stairs of the 3 story building to the roof; nothing there. He walked over to the edge to look over.

He took in the entirety of the lost city, the people now "relocated", and that no one else was in sight. He backed away from the edge, noticing the floating camera overhead.

"Where are you?"

"(…Behind you…)"

Spun round, before he could recognise…

*BANG!* A bullet-shell hits the floor

He fell round and onto his front closer to the edge, his body and head impacting onto the ground, his hand an inch away from the fall. He looked at the surface next to him; the shadow of his killer clouded the visible ground. He looked to his hand, still holding the cube, a tear formed in his eye, he whispered…

"Jane… Maroc… I'm sorry…"

*BANG*

The bullet impacted his head, splitting the skull in two, and exiting through the forehead of the former gladiator, and dragging the contents of the head with it. Blood pouring from the wound of the now-lifeless shell, the killer did not flinch, who then kicked the corpse over the edge. After a pause, the sound of shattering glass, and then the satisfying thud of the body impacting the ground along with the shards of glass landing next to it; the killer savoured it.

He stood on the edge, viewing the mess he made, of the shattered sky-roof from the floor below and the circle of glass shards with a corpse in the centre on the ground floor. He was satisfied of the mess he made.

Music played, signalling that the fight was over. More cameras flew over, surrounding and circling the champion. Then from the nearby speakers…

"Ladies and Gentlemen, that was probably one of the most anticipated, and worthwhile fights I've seen in a long time! The number one gladiator, Apollo, has been terminated by the number-one exterminator Drandor the Merciless! Drandor has now successfully eliminated 7 high-ranking gladiators this month, and it's not even close to over yet!"

The champion took off his helmet, revealing his scared face to the camera viewers could see through; he was expecting them to be cheering him on.

"Ha ha, what a pussy! We already know no one can defeat me, so I won't ask who can. Instead I'll ask: What 'kind' of gladiator, who has the balls to take me on?!"

**Date: 21/09/5,456**

**Location: Unknown**

**Time: Uncertain; about 24 Hours later…**

Woken up before his alarm clock rang; that meant he could get some more sleep before he had to get up, or unless he forgot to charge it and it's the afternoon again. But be couldn't be bothered to get up; he was too comfortable in his own bed.

His own… bed?

He moved slightly and it felt like he wasn't covered by his usual covers, but with something else. He moved more and felt more… bulky.

His eyes opened, revealing a ceiling that was unfamiliar to him; looking around the room, realising he was somewhere he didn't fall asleep at nor did he know where he is: just some room where he could see the silver walls of the small room and matching floor but no doors in site.

He sat up, noticing what he was wearing; full body armour, where the main colours where black and a faded red. He hung his legs over the side of the table he was lying on, and after inspecting his hands, legs, feet, and chest, his attention turned to his head. He was wearing a fixed helmet, which seemed somewhat thin compared to the rest of his armour. It also contained some kind of breathing apparatus with no breathing problems and a visor that allows for maximum vision. What he didn't know was that he's a new contestant.

"*Zzzzz-Beep* …Hello?"

(Who was that? I don't recognise the voice. Or the accent even)

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

(He's talking to me)

"Err… Hello?" he replied.

"Ah good, you're awake! I was worried you were in stasis for too long; you were unconscious for hours after being reanimated"

"W-What?"

"Ok listen: I know you have a lot of questions…

(Damn right!)

"…But you need wait and pay attention; If you don't pass the qualifying, you'll be terminated"

"Terminated?!"

"Yeah, painfully I imagine. Firstly I need to get your suit's targeting systems calibrated.

The moment the contestant stood up, the table that held him began to descend to the floor as if there wasn't a table in the first place, that's when the contestant noticed the markings on it: a large circle with an imprint of two feet on it.

"Stand in the circle" the voice commanded.

Lacking any other ideas, the contestant took a step forward and right, and then placed both his feet on their designated spots, noticing how easy it was to move in the suit despite the size and bulk of it.

"Ok, the suit you're wearing is standard issue for new contestants…"

(Contestants?)

…It'll provide the bare minimum of protection so try not to feel invincible while in it. Now I'm going to lock your entire suit's servos; remain calm"

A whirring noise could be heard, and his limbs were forced into an idle position, after a few clicks, he couldn't move anything other than his eyes and mouth, which made him uncomfortable. Something flashed into position in front of him; a hologram: a rectangle hovering about 1 metre away, extending so it covers the contestant's field of view. The hologram split into small section; the corners began to flash red, and the sides flashed yellow.

(A hologram?)

"Now this is important; your survival depends on it. The visor tracks your eyes' movement and what you're focusing on; mess this up and you might as well be shooting blindfolded"

(I'll be shooting?)

"Look at the top-left corner of the screen, and focus on the hologram"

(…Like I have a choice(!))

The contestant looked and kept his focus; he could only see it with his left eye and he was straining to keep it there. A beep was heard.

"Now the top-right one"

While being lead through the other corners, he couldn't help but wonder:

(Do holograms and targeting computers like that exist? And what's up with his voice? Sounds like a voice changer's being used but there's something else. Wait, there are computers that track eye movement…)

"Ok, now a demo: follow the white dot"

A small white dot appeared in the centre of the hologram which then began to move: he kept his focus. After 10 seconds of slow-fast bursts of movement, the dot disappeared.

"Good, now I'm going to unlock your suit's neck"

After more whirring, the contestant could move his neck with ease, much to his satisfaction. Then a slightly larger white dot appeared in front of him.

"Using your neck, follow the white dot"

The dot moved with a medium speed, and the contestant began to follow, using his neck as well as his eyes, comparing himself to a funny cat video due to his movements. After about 15 seconds, the dot finally disappeared.

"You're doing well. Now for something interesting; I'll unlocking the rest of your suit, and sending something your way"

After more mechanical noises, the suit's restrictions were lifted. A different mechanical noise caught his attention, one coming from in front of him. He saw another section of the floor was rising up, this time it was a 1 metre cubic box. It opened, revealing two handles.

"Pick them up" the voiced ordered.

He walked over to the box and gripped the two handles, noticing they aren't fixed, then pulled them out and viewed them. They were two handguns of a design he's never seen before; with a button on the side maybe for reloading but he was uncertain how many rounds the magazine holds.

"Place them his your holsters on your legs"

(My holsters…?)

He didn't notice them before, but then saw the gun's outline on his outer legs that's large enough to hold them. He placed the guns onto the holsters and they were secure. His visor flashed a picture of the two handguns side-by-side was displayed on the screen with a red outline. That outline became green.

"Your Duel Vipers are now synced to your suit's targeting system. Without aiming down the sights, shoot the bull's eye of the target in front of you"

The contestant then saw a green target with a small bull's eye on it. He turned round fully and pulled his duel weapons and pointed roughly in its direction. His visor showed what the Vipers were pointing, like two laser pointers, and then used it to target the bull's eye. He pulled the triggers. The guns fired rapidly, hitting their mark but heading upwards at an alarming rate: the guns stop.

"…Well the targeting works, but it don't stop recoil, and for good reason apparently. But that's the basics done…"

"You said 'Qualifying'. What am I qualifying for?" the contestant answered back, believing that he's entitled for an explanation.

"There's a transport behind you"

The contestant looked to see the wall open up revealing something that looked like a cylinder-shaped elevator.

"It will take you to the next stage of the qualifying and a recording of our boss explaining what you're here to do"

"Who's your boss?"

"Our boss mind. And you'll see"

The contestant looked to the elevator, knowing he doesn't have an alternative; he walks to it and steps in. He turns round to see the doors close and then hears a low humming sound. This lasted for about 20 seconds, and the contestant wondered:

(Is this going to move? ...Or is the room moving?)

The humming stops, the doors open to reveal a different room entirely. He steps out to be greeted by a large room of silver and red, filled with a sea of an orange substance that looked bad for one's health, and two islands; one near the edge of the room which the contestant was standing on and one in the centre of the room containing metal barriers, several elevators, and many boxes of different colours. The contestant's attention turned to a screen on his island and walked over to it. The screen then played music and flashed a spinning logo of what appeared to be a red helmet with two spikes on either side and a third one on its head, also in front of two 'I's indicating the number two. The contestant stopped, and a video played: it showed a green creature of an adult age wearing an orange suit and headset and half visor covering his right side; its defining features include red eyes, sharp teeth, black eyebrows and brown moustache, its whole left arm and most of its left face augmented with cybernetics, and an evil smile of its lips. It spoke:

"Greetings, and welcome… to DreadZone II! Rest assured you're now far beyond the reach of hope; there will be no rescues, no pardons, no possibility of escape! You are now a contestant of the greatest holo-vision program, this galaxy has ever known! A gladiator, battling for the pleasure of a billion screaming fans across the Bogon galaxy! Chances are you'll be dead by tomorrow, but those of you who play with skill and strategy, will earn a chance to win your freedom! So, good luck… fresh meat, we'll be watching you! *Evil chuckle*"

The recording ends, the contestant processed the information from the recording, including…

"WHAT was that thing?"

"That thing was Gleeman Vox; the director of Dreadzone and CEO of the Vox media empire that produces it"

"But seriously… what was it?"

"Ah… (read this guy's file; this will be complicated)…"

"What?"

"Ok keep an open mind, or you'll won't understand"

"Ok I'm listening"

"You're currently on a space station in the Bogon galaxy where other aliens fight for their lives for the entertainment of other aliens, including the one you just saw"

"…You know, you could have fooled me"

"I'm serious; if you don't accept your situation, you won't last minutes, forget the day! Just… complete the qualifying; afterwards we'll meet before the advanced qualifying and I can answer some of your questions"

He didn't believe this: his home planet never had an official first contact and aliens were just theories. So if this is true, why is he here? And fighting for his life?

"I'm activating the bridge; cross it and pick up your next gift. And don't fall into the acid!"

Just then, the space between the two islands flashed white, then a beam about 3 metres wide formed from the contestant's island to the next one. The contestant walked to it then pressed his foot on it; it was a solid beam of light he could walk on. The contestant, knowing he might not have the time, stood on it, smiled slightly, and then walked to the next island. It wasn't a long walk, but it gave him time to think:

(Abducted by aliens and forced into a combat sport for the whole galaxy to watch. Do I believe this? Am I dreaming? I feel awake, and it's too detailed and consistent to be one. So if this is real, I need to be careful; I don't know what toys they have to attack me with. Ok, I'll play this game for now…)

The contestant made it to the other island, and the light bridge deactivated behind him. At that point, a small section of the ground lifted, like the box containing the Vipers before. It was a box, and it opened, revealing a silver melee weapon of some sort. He grabbed it instantly and viewed it: it looked like an oversized wrench, ones for grabbing bolts the size of his head. And he imaged what a head would look like if it was struck with this new weapon.

"This is your wrench: melee weapon and node activator for future challenges, so don't lose it. It clips to a holster on your lower back designed for a right-handed person to use; it can be changed if needed later"

He placed the wrench behind his back, looking for the holster. It clicked and was stationary, and then the visor flashed a red outline of the wrench then a green one. This made the contestant wonder…

"Wait, this wrench has a targeting system?"

"No, it's just syncing the wrench as a new weapon. As you can imagine, the wrench is designed for crushing blows. The head of the wrench extends the faster you swing your wrench, thus allowing a slightly longer range"

The contestant pulled out the wrench and swung it, and it did extend but also retracted when it stopped moving. Then a loud mechanical noise could be heard; it was coming from above. He looked up to see an opening forming in the ceiling.

"Now you have your new weapon, we'll begin combat"

(Already?!)

"You'll be facing Swarmers first; their just small ankle-biters and sharp-orbs. A smack of the wrench will stop them. After that, you'll meet some of the assault troops. Take them all out, and don't get shot/bitten/burned by acid/etcetera. That's all I'm allowed to say now: good luck"

And with that final comment, he knew he was alone… but not for long. Several objects fell from the hole in the ceiling and landed about 5 metres away from the contestant; they looked like small dinosaurs with larger teeth than the contestant's own teeth, and appeared to be bio-mechanical beings. He drew his wrench into a battle stance and watched the ankle-biters; they were immediately heading towards him. Once one was close enough, he took the wrench, swung it overhead and struck the swarmer; bolts flew and the swarmer ceased to move. But there was more coming, and then orange floating orbs began to appear, initially they looked harmless but he still backed off. One charged him, then stopped a metre away from him, then the orb extended 8 blades from its side and began spinning; four blades spun clockwise while the other four spun counter clockwise. He wasted no time in swatting the orb away and was ready for the others.

Just over a minute later, all the swarmers were down but he wasn't relaxing; he knew about the next wave. Just then, the elevators became active and were heading towards him. Each elevator stopped and opened at the same time revealing a large 8 ft robot armed with assault rifle in each one, making a group of 4 troopers all looking at him. The colours of the armour matched his but looked slightly thicker, and significantly more threatening. He looked at the weapons they were packing and noticed they were pointing at him…

"Oh shit"

…and ran for the nearest cover. The troops began firing immediately and one shot hit the contestant in the side before he fell into cover.

"Arrgh!"

The armour was the bare minimum of protection and he knew it. He noticed his visor had 2 pictures of his suit from the front and back, and that the place where he hit; indicating damage received. He holstered his wrench and pulled out his Vipers and noticed the counter on his visor: "41/50" his ammo count. His whole situation was played out in his head within a few seconds:

(Abducted, forced to fight, being shot at, and in pain. Not a dream.

Wrench; won't survive sprint. Duel vipers, watch recoil. Targets; check left, fire right)

His fight/flight response numbed the pain of the wound; he crawled to the left of the cover. He was ready.

Stuck his head out for no more than 1 second and pulled it back in. Laser fire struck the cover and passed the cover. Dashed for the other cover without showing the enemy, head over cover, target locked, Vipers fired for 3 seconds, back into cover.

He heard something heavy hit the ground, knew it was the one he shot.

(One down)

He repeated this two more times and took out two more, leaving one left; but he was out of ammo.

(0/50. Need ammo)

He noticed the green box a few metres away with a picture which looked to be a symbol for bullets, but it was outside cover and no cover between it and him. None of the crates were next to cover.

(Can't dash, end up dead. Wrench throw:

Unreliable and it would distract for only a second, and I'm not close enough)

The trooper was moving closer.

(I can hear its metallic steps, wait till its close enough, jump off barricade, smack over head and finish off. Risky, but I've got no choice. Will the barricade hold my weight?)

He formed a fist, held it up and slammed onto the barricade as hard as he could then retreated.

(It will)

The striker moved closer, he was only a few feet away and he knew it. He jumped up, one foot on the barricade, jumped higher, trooper didn't have time to react, and the contestant slammed the wrench over the troopers head onto the ground. The trooper attempted to get up but he just beat it again, and again, and again, until it stopped moving and was is several pieces. His breath was short, his wound was hurting again, but he survived.

"Well done!"

The voice caused the contestant to jump, who then sighed.

"You just need to watch a quick security recording and you finished the qualifying"

(Happy Happy(!))

The same music from before was heard again, this time from a different screen on this island. He walked over to it while holding his side wound, then noticed the elevator was running again: it stopped and the contestant drew his wrench. It opened to reveal two different robots: they were tall and yellow with a single orange eye. On the side of their heads they had that black and yellow disk usually reserved for crash test dummies. He hypothesised:

(Testing robots, but testing what? Security recording? And Vox's apparent personality: this is a demonstration to show what happens if I don't behave. Must be)

The screen flashed again, and showed the creature known as Gleeman Vox again.

"You probably haven't noticed yet, but now notice the Deadlock Collar securely around your neck…"

The contestant checked but couldn't tell; probably because it was under his armour, if it was like the collars the other robots had.

"…This collar cannot be broken or removed. Should you 'misbehave' like… I don't know, enter any restricted areas or disobey an order; the collars can be activated to deliver an incredibly painful shock. Observe" And gestured towards the robots.

The contestant looked towards the robot that hung its head and shook it; it said:

"I hate this job…"

After a low beep, the collar began sparking and the robot began screaming for 5 seconds, then stopped and fell to the floor.

He wasn't sure how a robot could feel pain, or fear when he noticed the other one twitching and shaking. But still, the shock from the collar caught his attention.

"Also, should a contestant become uncooperative or worse… boring, his, her or its collar can be detonated at any time" Then gestured towards the other robot.

"PLEASE PLEASE! I WON'T MESS UP AGAIN! JUST LET ME LI…"

An explosion silenced the robot whose head was now shattered and thrown across the floor, then the body fell to the ground. The whole experience made the contestant gulp nervously, which made him notice the restriction of his collar.

"There! Nothing to lose your head over, right?"

He wasn't sure if he'd experience that, but wouldn't be looking forward to it. He'd need to do what Vox said.

"Anyway, I've you made it this far, good! You'll now be directed to your new living quarters where you'll probably spend the rest of your life living in, and you'll meet your mission engineer in person. Now tick tock: get moving, time is bolts"

The recording ended, and the first voice returned.

"Glad you made it this far, now before you leave…"

"Why am I here?!"

"…You were chosen like everyone else"

"How?! I come from a planet that doesn't interact with anything else outside!"

"I'm sorry but I don't know how you were chosen. It seems to be at random. All I have is a file which is just your product description. Nothing more"

There was a moment of silence. He now believed it what he was told; between the ankle-biters, sharp flying balls, weaponised lasers, combat robots, bridges of light, holograms, that Vox guy, and the sentient crash test dummies, it's hard not to. The voice responded again.

"You've been through a lot today: I recommend picking up ammo and reloading, then head to the elevator in the middle of the island where we can meet face to face"

"You're my mission engineer? What is…?"

"Meet me, and I'll tell you"

The contestant sighed, he did need a break. He took his wrench and smashed open one of the boxes with the ammo sign on it and picked up the magazines. He pressed the button on the side of the right Viper which dropped the old mag and then fitted the new one. Then cocked it and repeated on the other one. He walked towards the elevator but before he stepped in, he looked at the troop wreck next to him:

(I wonder if I can use the rifle…)

He picked up the rifle, only to find it's fallen into pieces.

(Self-destruct? Oh well)

He jumped into the elevator and it immediately took him away. This time it took longer, about a full minute, and there were moments where it felt like he was moving sideways. Then it stopped.

It opened to reveal a walkway. He stepped out and the elevator disappeared. To his left he was greeted by a view of a massive space station infrastructure of connecting buildings to a single large dome in the centre. He looked right to see a view of space which was amazing. The contestant looked down to see that after the walkway there was nothing below except more space. He heard footsteps. He turned left again to see a short robot walking towards him. Once he was 2 metres away, he stopped. The robot was coloured a dark green and was fairly thin, with yellow eyes and three fingers and one thumb on each hand.

"I'm glad we can now finally meet in person; with our masks off"

*Click*

The contestant's helmet started to move and unfold. Starting with the front of the mask; first the breather plate, then the cheeks and fore head, then the visor which completely revealed his face: he was a young male human, Caucasian, with dark green eyes. The sides and top of the helmet contracted to the back of the head revealing his short brown hair. Then the plate behind his head slid down behind his neck and disappeared into the suit.

The robot stepped forward, stuck out his hand and said:

"I'm Solo; I'll be your Mission Engineer for your time in DreadZone"

The human was hesitant but then shook Solo's hand.

"And you're name is…?"

He thought to himself, still unsure about the events of the day, but then replied.

"Err…Findag…"

"Nice to meet you Findag. Now follow me, I have a lot of things to go through"

Solo began to walk towards where he came, towards the main infrastructure and Findag followed. The path split to the left and right. The left contained a room full of computers and other similar equipment. Solo went right, into a different building.

Findag followed him into the building to see living space: there was a bright orange sofa facing a medium-sized screen, several white desks with papers and loose books on them, two bookcases, where one was for books and the other for what looked like high-tech DVDs or something similar. There was a small kitchen with a fridge, cupboard, an oven (maybe), and a sink. Other than that, there were three doors on the far side of the room. While the room is small in size, little space was wasted.

"So what do you think?" Solo said with a smile on his face.

"Honestly, I thought someone that's forced to fight wouldn't get a lower-quality room than this, like a budget room or something: this is better than my last room!" Findag answered and could help but smile.

"Technically it isn't yours; most of this stuff is mine: I've been here longer than most, but you're welcome to use it; except the large tanks of oil without permission"

"What would I use large tanks of oil for?"

"Some organics prefer oil baths to water for some strange reason; no idea why"

"Would that be a waste?"

"Not wasted; I do it sometimes. I just find it strange if an organic does it"

Findag shrugged in agreement, and Solo continued:

"The bathroom is the left door, the training room is the right door, and the bedroom is the centre door. The fridge's computer tracks food consumption and can order more if needed and if you can afford it, high quality meals. There are some books and combat magazines, holo-films, the training room has exercise equipment to improve yourself, bathroom has a shower, sink and toilet, and bedroom has a bed, small closet, and suit cradle to take off the suit while you're here. Any questions?"

Findag was going to ask about how to get the suit off, but that was already answered.

"You mentioned the advanced qualifying. What's that and when is it?"

"It's your first official arena match: you'll be fighting more enemies in the main battle dome…" Solo said pointing at the large dome structure in the centre of the station.

"You basically eliminate all hostiles and move on; you just continue along until the end. And there's a crowd of several hundred DreadZone watching in the dome and several billion watching on holo-vision"

"…Oh"

"Camera shy?"

"Now I am"

Findag didn't consider himself who was that shy, but this situation makes things uncomfortable.

"I won't lie to you: they're a tough crowd who want to see hardcore fights and not rookie shootouts. And the hosts aren't much better. Whatever happens, focus on the fight and you'll do fine"

"I appreciate the encouragement. So when's the fight?"

"Advanced qualifying have the priority but there's a fight going on as well as a que. After that and any others who have been waiting longer, you'll be called to the shuttle. For now I can answer a few more questions until then…"

Above the arena was the office of CEO Gleeman Vox, overlooking the arena. Vox stood at the window, watching the fight for afar with a neutral expression. He wasn't paying a great deal of attention to the fight itself; he was looking at what made money to him, and was wondering why it wasn't as high as before.

The doors behind him open, heavy boots could be heard entering the room, and the door closes; Vox didn't need to turn round to know who it was.

"You took your time" Vox said.

He turned round to see his number-one exterminator Drandor, still wearing his armour; who practically sleeps in it. Drandor could tell this meeting wasn't going to be good.

"What is it Vox?" Drandor said impatiently; Vox took his seat and a deep breath.

"You know those fancy action figures, trading cards, and EVERY ONTHER PIECE OF SHIT WITH YOUR FACE ON IT?!" Vox found his hands perched on his table, his augmented limb nearly breaking it, and then retook his seat.

"What about it? Wait, don't tell me: they're not selling, are they?"

"…No, they're not. And I think I know why: You killed Apollo too quickly!"

"What do you mean? I did it like you asked"

"NO! What I wanted you to kill him in a slow dramatic fashion which bolsters the public's opinion of you! …Just to give you an idea: say 'This does not sell even at the lowest price'"

Drandor knew Vox would keep this up until he did, so he didn't bother resisting.

"This does not sell even at the lowest price"

"Good. Now say that again…two…hundred…MILLION TIMES!"

"Hey! You're the one who thought making that many was a good idea, not me!"

"Zip it! Because of your inability to sell, I've now got two hundred million paperweights to deal with, and now… so do you! Now start selling these things or those new 'gifts' I gave you recently will be recalled faster than you can say 'Boltless'! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Drandor looked at his with intense hate in his eyes, but Vox had a stronger vision that him. Drandor turned round and left the room.

Vox swung round in his chair, and sighed, unhappy with this situation.

"You try to build an empire, and people you trust bring you down with their failures"

That's Chapter 1. If you liked the story, or have some constructive criticism, please do comment and say so.


End file.
